Transforming neuropsychology training programmes in South African higher education settings

Abstract

In recent decades, there has been a proliferation of neuropsychology training programmes globally, including in South Africa and other low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Almost invariably, programmes in those countries privilege colonial origins of knowledge while excluding local epistemologies. Our objective in this conceptual article is to describe how a decolonial approach can be applied to the transformation of South African neuropsychology training programmes. Osmer’s practical theology guides our proposal. Osmer’s four tasks – descriptive-empirical, interpretive, normative and pragmatic – can help identify, analyse and challenge colonial legacies within academia and assist in developing justice-oriented scholarship. In the current article, Task 1 describes the landscape of South African neuropsychology and the characteristics of existing training programmes. Task 2 interrogates why those characteristics exist as they do. Task 3 proposes ways in which programmes ought to be transformed. Task 4 details how stakeholders can contribute to this transformation. We thus propose that neuropsychology training programmes in South Africa use this framework to develop relevant, equitable and inclusive teaching, research and clinical approaches.
Contribution: South African neuropsychology training programmes operate within Western, individualistic and androcentric ontologies, thereby marginalising indigenous epistemologies and discouraging inclusive participation. Although there is broad agreement on the need to adapt local practices, no previous work advocating for transformation of neuropsychology training programmes has used a strong theoretical framework or described precise change methodologies. We advocate a decolonial approach, allied to a convivial attitude and task-related practices a la Osmer, to ensure that South African neuropsychology is inclusive and contextually relevant.